A STORY TO BE TOLD
“In a village of Jaén, the name of which I have desire to call to mind, we are going to tell you a story that everybody likes to listen to”
Olive oil is undoubtedly the most mystical and healthiest product of the Mediterranean. It is a tree which stood before the eyes of our grandparents, and the grandparents of our grandparents; and the grandchildren of our grandchildren will see it too.
Aware of this beautiful tradition, the founders, Manuel and Domingo, more than 30 back, took the brave action of buying their first olive groves. They resolved that, from then on, their family and their lives would always be deeply rooted in the soil, as the nature which surrounded them was to them like a nurturing mother. They already knew that the path they had to take would be difficult, and that they would take the obstacles in their stride.
We are a unity: respect for the environment, integrated production, life. Manuel and Domingo understood that just by taking care of what nature had given them, they could create more richness by bringing life back to life They built access to the water of Guadalquivir, they planted trees where they were needed, integrated within cattle pastures in the heart of Sierra de Andújar-Sierra Morena. They built irrigation systems to feed the life of their fields and devoted time and economic resources to continuous improvement. They created systems of cooperation with other farmers to evaluate their work, improving it day by day and achieving a long-term vision. They did all of this without prioritizing crop yields but taking care of nature, and understanding that man is just one more force of nature, integrated into the universe, meant to move forward with it.
You get what you give, and what you give you receive. This is the law of karma. All that Manuel and Domingo did was treat everyone around them well, while caring for and helping to develop all the life they found. Nature knew this, and it was grateful. They nurtured their venerated olive trees the same way they nurtured each personal relationship; respecting all natural life in its essence because they were born from its entrails. They received and continue to receive the very best of each person and element of nature. They gave and continue to give their best self in return. And so, they passed this knowledge on to their daughters, who have wanted to continue the legacy: the tradition and the taste for things well done. They studied nature and the human being as an inseparable whole. They studied general and agricultural science, development applied to the improvement of society, technology and personal relationships, to offer the very best to nature and to their parents. They continue to offer the same to their children.
The greatest reward you can have requires effort and sacrifice. They developed a system of cultivation which pays respect to the environment, while at the same time offering a healthy, highly-nuanced staple food. They would no longer buy and sell the oil of others. They would sell theirs with pride. After all, it is the one that they cultivated with dedication and selfless love to family and nature. The true and patient kind of love which expects nothing in return. Love which is pure, but which also has the necessary courage and strength to carry out large projects.
They started by cultivating other varieties which would improve the species of the crop. They filled their fields with more flora and fauna and respected it so that it would grow; miscegenation improves the species. Knowing this, they made the main variety flourish by cultivating other varieties of olives and other plants in a kind of a cooperative production, able to unite various properties. As a result, the oil obtained would be improved: fruit of all the wealth of nature. In this way they produced the most sublime, characteristic and healthy Extra Virgin Olive Oil of Supreme Quality.